Schwarz travel column: United to match status for STC-Chicago travelers

A ground crewman signals for the United Express Canadair CRJ200 to spool up its engines before leaving Tuesday on its maiden voyage to Chicago.
Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com A ground crewman signals for the United Express Canadair CRJ200 to spool up its engines before leaving on its maiden voyage to Chicago Tuesday.(Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)Buy Photo

Because status is everything for business travelers, United Airlines will match yours to help build traffic on its new St. Cloud-Chicago route. But you have to ask for the perk-rich status soon.

Frequent travelers who've have built elite status on one airline (probably Delta for all of us Minnesotans) are loathe to walk away from the upgrades, club access and other perks that come along with all those hard-earned miles.

So, until June 30, United is saying "try us — we'll give you perks, too."

To claim a status match on United, go to www.united.com/stc statusmatch before June 30. You'll be asked to provide proof of elite status on another airline and residency in Central Minnesota.

Once you're enrolled, you'll get United's version of the same perks of the other airline's elite programs through Sept. 30. If you fly often enough, you'll keep the United Mileage Plus status for the rest of the program year.

And you don't lose status on your old airline, so there's nothing to lose.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised 22 U.S. airports to post signs to alert travelers to the risk of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Minneapolis-St. Paul is among those airports.

Two travelers on recent flights from Saudi Arabia have been hospitalized with the illness, one in Florida and one in Indiana. The Indiana patient has since been released.

According to the World Health Organization, about 500 cases of MERS have been reported in the past two years, primarily in Saudi Arabia. Of those,145 patients have died.

The CDC says the symptoms of MERS are severe respiratory illness with fever, cough and shortness of breath. MERS can spread between people who come into close contact and has been known to affect health care workers and caregivers of patients.

Travelers to the Arabian Peninsula are not being advised to change their plans. The CDC is providing information to flight crews, airport medical services and customs officers who are being asked to report ill passengers to the CDC. Hand-washing is recommended as a first-line defense against MERS.